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Biomedical subjects

O Koldovsky

Publications and source records attributed to O Koldovsky.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Milk carnitine affects organ carnitine concentration in newborn rats.

Previous studies suggest that exogenous milk carnitine may be necessary during the suckling period to maintain normal fat metabolism. To characterize the relationship between milk carnitine and carnitine in body organs, newborn rats were fed from birth a rat milk substitute with or without 300 micromol/L L-carnitine, corresponding to the concentration present in rat milk, for either 2 or 4 d. Carnitine concentrations in heart, skeletal muscle, liver and small intestine were compared with levels in rat pups that were never fed (d 0) and those that were nursed by their mothers for 4 d. Carnitine supplementation resulted in significantly higher concentrations of carnitine in all organs studied after 4 d compared with nursed controls. Relative intestinal carnitine pool size was 38.1 +/- 3.0, 22.6 +/- 1.0, 7.9 +/- 0.5 and 2.3 +/- 0.7 micromol/g body wt in supplemented, nursed, unsupplemented and never fed pups, respectively (P < 0.05, compared with one another). These results indicate that carnitine organ concentrations are related to dietary intake during the early suckling period and that the small intestine is a considerable and previously unrecognized proportion of the carnitine pool of suckling animals.

Animals

Nutrient absorption in the preterm neonate.

The majority of what we know about the development of the absorptive process is derived from animal studies, studies in human fetal or stillborn tissues, and epidemiologic investigations derived from clinical experience. One can readily ascertain from this review that the absorption of nutrients in the intestine of the premature infant relates to a dynamic developmental process in which the consecutive stages are pre-programmed but can also be regulated by environmental factors. An understanding of these factors may lead to therapeutic intervention in premature infants, as has been the case for the developing lung and respiratory distress syndrome. Application of this knowledge to the critically ill premature infant in the intensive care unit will need to proceed cautiously, but it is likely to yield major benefits in terms of decreased short- and long-term morbidity in these highly vulnerable patients.

Animals

Presence of insulin-like growth factor I but absence of the binding proteins in the bile of rats.

Whereas insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) has been found in various body fluids from different species, the presence or absence of IGF and associated binding proteins (IGFBPs) in bile has not been clearly defined. Bile concentration of IGF-I was measured in this study and found to be highest in the neonate and lowest in adult rats [133 +/- 15.9, 79.4 +/- 10.5, 45.3 +/- 12.7 ng/ml (mean +/- SE) in 12-day-old, 33-day-old, and adult rats, respectively]. When bile delivery rates of IGF-I (i.e., the product of IGF-I concentration in bile and the biliary flow rate) were calculated, IGF-I delivery was highest in weanling rats (469 pg.h-1.g body wt-1). When expressed as amount of IGF-I in bile delivered per day, however, delivery rates rose from 0.2 micrograms/day in the suckling and remained constant at 1.6-1.7 micrograms/day in both weanling and adult animals. Bile samples exposed to a placental membrane IGF receptor preparation showed significant dose-dependent inhibition of binding of native IGF-I. Because no IGF binding proteins were identified by Western ligand blot or by Sephadex gel chromatography, the results suggest the presence of biologically significant quantities of bioactive IGF-I in bile. We speculate that IGF-I in bile may play an important role in the growth of the gastrointestinal tract, both in the suckling as well as later in life.

Animals

Fate of insulin-like growth factors I and II administered orogastrically to suckling rats.

Milk-borne insulin-like growth factors I and II (IGF-I and -II) may be of importance in the differentiation of the gastrointestinal tract of the suckling. To test this hypothesis, 10- to 11-d-old suckling rats were given via an orogastric tube 125I-IGF-I (n = 6) or 125I-IGF-II (n = 6) in rat milk and killed 30 min later. The results of this study demonstrated that approximately 40% of the radioactivity administered was detected in the gastrointestinal tract for both 125I-IGF-I and 125I-IGF-II experiments. Gel chromatography of acid extracts of homogenates of gastrointestinal tissues and luminal contents demonstrated that a significant fraction of recovered radioactivity eluted in a position identical to "native" IGF. These findings were confirmed by subjecting similarly treated samples to high performance liquid chromatography. In addition, radioactive material recovered from M(r) 7,500 fractions bound specifically to crude membrane IGF-I and -II receptor preparations, further suggesting the preservation of biologic activity of the recovered peptides. Although skin homogenates contained large peptide fragments of 125I-IGF-I, no "intact" IGF was found in the blood or other tissues. These findings suggest that milk-borne IGFs are stable in the neonatal gastrointestinal tract and remain biologically active for as long as 30 min postingestion.

Administration, Oral

Ontogenic differences in the inhibition of gastric acid secretion by epidermal growth factor.

Gastric secretions were studied in rats by pyloric ligation in vivo. The effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) administered s.c. on gastric secretion were evaluated at different stages of development (8, 14, 20 and 30 postnatal days). The rates of fluid, protein and acid outputs were very low in developing rats but increased in maturing rats. The rate of acid output in 8- day-old rats (3.83 +/- 1.16) was not different from that in 14-day-old rats (4.84 +/- 0.99), whereas the rate of acid output in 20-day-old rats was 11-fold greater than that in 14-day-old rats, and it was 21-fold greater in 30-day-old rats. Subcutaneous administration of 30 micrograms/kg b.wt. of EGF significantly suppressed the gastric secretion of fluid, protein and acid in 20- and 30-day-old rats. In 30-day-old rats, acid output was 85% lower at 1 hr after EGF administration and in 20-day-old rats it was 85% lower at 2 hr and 50% lower at 3 hr. Interestingly, EGF had no effect on basal gastric secretions in 8- and 14-day-old rats; EGF also had no effect on the gastric acid output that was stimulated by pentagastrin administration in 14-day-old rats. In 20-day-old rats, inhibitory effects of EGF lasted for 3 hr before gastric secretions rebounded to normal levels, but inhibition lasted for only 1 hr in 30-day-old rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Age Factors

Bombesin differentially affects gastric emptying in suckling, weanling and adult rats.

The gastric effect of bombesin, a homolog of the mammalian peptide found in breast milk, was studied in suckling, weanling and adult rats (11, 30 and 90 days old, respectively). Control gastric emptying was not different in the three age groups. When bombesin was given orogastrically in a saline vehicle, 30 min before a nonabsorbable radiolabeled marker (used to assess gastric emptying), a significant and dose-related inhibitory effect was observed in sucklings. In contrast to the data with orogastric peptide in saline, when bombesin was given orogastrically in rat milk 30 min before the marker, there was no effect on gastric emptying in sucklings. Inhibition of gastric emptying was again demonstrated in the sucklings when bombesin (0.6-30 micrograms) was given with an artificial rat milk substitute 30 min before the marker. In contrast, orogastric bombesin in rat milk or rat milk substitute had no effect on gastric emptying in weanlings or adults. While s.c. bombesin in saline did not alter gastric emptying in sucklings, s.c. administration of the peptide produced a significant and dose-related increase in gastric emptying in both weanlings and adults. These results support the concept that milk-borne peptides, such as gastrin releasing peptide, may be involved in regulation of gastric function in suckling rats.

Administration, Oral

Inhibition of intestinal degradation of somatostatin by rat milk.

In vitro degradation of 125I-labeled somatostatin-14 (Tyr11) [I-SS-14(Tyr11)] by luminal flushings of rat gastrointestinal segments was studied to characterize the fate of somatostatin in the gastrointestinal lumen. In addition, we evaluated the effect of rat milk as a potential inhibitor of luminal degradation of 125I-SS-14(Tyr11). Degradation of 125I-SS-14(Tyr11) was not detected in stomach flushings from either suckling or weanling rats. Luminal flushings from the small intestine degraded 125I-SS-14(Tyr11), with a gradient increase of activity from duodenum to midjejunum (degradation in suckling rat midjejunum and ileum was about five times lower than that in weanling rat). Degradation of 125I-SS-14(Tyr11) by luminal flushings of suckling rat midjejunum was dose dependently inhibited by rat milk casein and soluble fractions. Inhibitory activity of rat milk soluble fraction was heat labile and several times more potent than that of casein fraction. Casein fraction appeared to be stable at 100 degrees C for up to 30 min of exposure. These studies suggest that somatostatin is stable in the gastric lumen and that milk protects somatostatin from intestinal luminal proteolysis, indicating a possible physiological significance of milk-borne SS-14 for the suckling rat gastrointestinal tract.

Aging

Effects of enterally- and parenterally-administered bombesin on intestinal luminal tryptic activity and protein in the suckling rat.

Because of the presence of bombesin-like immunoreactivity in milk, we investigated if enteral administration of bombesin affects the intestinal luminal content of trypsin and protein in 12-14-day-old rats. Bombesin (40 micrograms/kg), given either orogastrically or subcutaneously, produced a significant elevation in the intestinal content of trypsin activity. Thus, enterally-administered bombesin can produce acute biologic effects in suckling rats.

Administration, Oral

Assessment of lactose absorption by measurement of urinary galactose.

Individuals with sufficient intestinal lactase hydrolyze ingested lactose to galactose and glucose and these monosaccharides are absorbed. Lactose is not digested completely when intestinal lactase activity is low and the disaccharide is malabsorbed. Breath hydrogen excretion after lactose ingestion is used commonly to diagnose lactose malabsorption. However, no direct tests are currently used to assess lactose absorption. We tested a new method of assessing lactose absorption in 26 healthy individuals. Each subject ingested 50 g of lactose. Participants were evaluated for lactose malabsorption using a standard 3-h breath hydrogen test. In addition, the urinary excretions of galactose, lactose, and creatinine were quantitated for 3-5 h after lactose ingestion. On the basis of breath hydrogen analysis after lactose ingestion, 12 individuals were lactose malabsorbers (defined as a rise in the breath hydrogen concentration of greater than 20 parts per million above the baseline value). The 14 subjects who did not malabsorb lactose by breath hydrogen testing (defined as a rise in the breath hydrogen concentration of less than or equal to 20 parts per million above the baseline value), had significantly more galactose in their urine 1, 2, and 3 h after lactose ingestion than lactose malabsorbers. The ratio of excreted lactose to excreted galactose was significantly decreased in lactose absorbers compared with lactose malabsorbers (p less than 0.001). Determination of the ratio of urinary galactose to urinary creatinine separated lactose absorbers from lactose malabsorbers completely (p less than 0.001). We conclude from this study that the determination of urinary galactose, urinary lactose/galactose ratio, and urinary galactose/creatinine ratio may be used to assess lactose digestion and absorption in healthy adults.

Adolescent

Intestinal disaccharidases of young turkeys: temporal development and influence of diet composition.

An experiment was done to determine maltase, sucrase, isomaltase, and trehalase activities in mucosa of different segments of small intestines of young turkeys as influenced by age and diet. Two-day-old poults were fed diets containing no added fat [44.6% starch, 2.2% ether extract by weight (HC)], 10% tallow (T), or 10% corn oil [(CO) 29.0% starch, 10.9% ether extract]. Diets HC, T, and CO were calculated to contain 2,705, 3,083, and 3,196 kcal ME/kg, respectively, and constant protein, TSAA, and lysine:ME ratios were maintained. Appreciable maltase and isomaltase specific activities (micromoles of substrate hydrolyzed per milligram protein per hour) were observed in 2-day-old poults, and activities of these enzymes increased in poults fed the HC diet through 7 and 14 days, respectively. At 2 days, specific activity of sucrase was low, and trehalase activity was not detected. Sucrase activity increased steadily through 28 days of age in poults fed the HC diet. Trehalase activity was detected at 7 days of age and reached a maximum by Day 21 after hatch. By Day 28, trehalase activity had disappeared from all segments except for the proximal jejunum. In 28-day-old poults fed the HC diet, specific activities of all disaccharidases were greatest in the jejunal segments; i.e., 21, 1.06, 7.24, and .034 mumol/mg protein/h for maltase, sucrase, isomaltase, and trehalase, respectively, in the proximal jejunum. Poults fed the T or CO diets had significantly lower disaccharidase activities than did those fed the HC diet, beginning at 7 days of age. Changes in specific activities of disaccharidases as related to age or diet or both were not always parallel, suggesting that each enzyme may be regulated by or affected by diet in a partly independent way.

Aging

Transferrin degradation by gastrointestinal fluids of suckling and weanling rats.

Dietary transferrins are postulated to play a number of biological roles in the developing gastrointestinal tract. A prerequisite for such roles is survival in the gastrointestinal lumen. To evaluate luminal transferrin digestion during development, 125I-transferrin was incubated in vitro with luminal fluid from the stomach and small intestine of 12-day old suckling and 31-day old weanling rats, followed by analysis of degradation products. At both ages, the rate of degradation to trichloroacetic acid soluble material was maximum in the mid-jejunum and lowest in the stomach. Transferrin hydrolysis by weanling fluid was 2-10 times greater than suckling depending upon the particular segment. Chromatography of small intestinal reaction mixtures on Sephacryl S-200 revealed label eluting between intact transferrin and free iodine: two such peaks were generated with suckling fluid and one with weanling. Electrophoresis on SDS-polyacrylamide gels showed two major bands of Mr 69K and 20K; the former was the predominant reaction product with suckling intestinal fluid and the latter with weanling. Both methods showed small amounts of apparently intact transferrin. Results indicate substantial yet incomplete luminal degradation of transferrin which is more pronounced in the weanling than in the suckling. This survival is compatible with potential biological functioning of dietary transferrin or one of its breakdown products within the gastrointestinal tract.

Animals

Luminal hydrolysis of recombinant human epidermal growth factor in the rat gastrointestinal tract: segmental and developmental differences.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF), present in high concentrations in the milk of various species, is biologically active following oral administration to young animals. Although in vivo studies show gastrointestinal processing of dietary EGF during early postnatal development, the relative importance of luminal and mucosal digestion in such processing is undefined. To characterize the luminal metabolism of dietary EGF in the developing gastrointestinal tract, we incubated human recombinant 125I-EGF in vitro at 37 degrees with luminal fluid from the stomach and various segments of the small intestine of 12 day old suckling and 31 day old weanling rats and analyzed the resulting reaction products. The rate of EGF hydrolysis as determined by generation of acid soluble material was greater in weanling small intestine than in suckling, with maximal hydrolytic capacity observed in the mid-jejunum and ileum. Minimal hydrolysis was observed with stomach fluid from both age groups, and EGF retained its ability to elute as a single species on Sephadex G-25 columns and to bind to monospecific affinity columns and placental membrane receptors. Incubation with suckling small intestinal fluid produced little change in the chromatographic profile on Sephadex G-25, but a reduction in antibody and receptor binding was observed. In contrast, incubation with weanling small intestinal fluid yielded both a more pronounced loss of EGF-like material on G-25 columns and a greater reduction in receptor and antibody binding. We conclude that little luminal EGF degradation occurs in the rat stomach during the suckling and weanling periods, but that in the lumen of the small intestine breakdown increases during postnatal development.

Animals

Dependency of lactose absorption on lactase activity in starved rats.

The effects of starvation on intestinal disaccharidase activities and disaccharide absorption were studied in rats. Adult male rats were starved for either 16 or 72 h and the specific activity of lactase and sucrase was determined together with the absorption of lactose, sucrose, and glucose in vitro by the everted sac technique. The specific activity of lactase was significantly higher and the specific activity of sucrase was lower in the 72-h starved animals when compared with the 16-h starved group. The higher specific lactase activity in the 72-h starved animals was reflected in enhanced absorption of lactose as determined by the transfer of the constituent monosaccharides into the serosal fluid. The transfer of glucose into the serosal fluid by the glucose sac was also higher in the 72-h starved rats but not to the same extent as that of lactose. The absorption of sucrose was not significantly different between the two groups of animals. This study shows that the increase of intestinal lactase activity induced by starvation of adult rats correlates with in vitro increased lactose absorption.

Animals

Isolated pancreatic acini from suckling and weanling rats: changes in amino acid incorporation and carbachol-stimulated amylase secretion with age.

To characterize the changes in pancreatic function during postnatal development, isolated pancreatic acini were prepared from rats aged 8-9, 12-14 and 20 days and from adult rats. Isolated acini maintained a normal microscopic appearance and viability as judged by exclusion of trypan blue and linear incorporation of tritiated leucine into total protein. The rate of incorporation in 8-day-old acini was 20% of that observed in adult rats. Significant dose-dependent increases in amylase release in response to carbachol were observed in all age groups; stimulated amylase secretion was significantly less in the 8- to 9- and 12- to 14-day-old animals than in the 20-day-old and adult rats. These data indicate that viable isolated pancreatic acini can be prepared from suckling rats and that these acini exhibit an altered in vitro responsiveness to carbachol. This preparation should therefore be a useful model for in vitro studies of the development of pancreatic function.

Amino Acids

Nature of elevated rat intestinal carbohydrase activities after high-carbohydrate diet feeding.

Adult rats that were maintained on a low-carbohydrate intake showed rapid increase in the activities of sucrase, maltase, and lactase along the length of the small intestine when they were fed a high-starch diet. In the present study, we have identified these activity increases, and showed that they reflect proportional accumulations in enzyme-protein of sucrase-isomaltase (EC 3.2.1.10, 3.2.1.48), maltase-glucoamylase (EC 3.2.1.20), and neutral lactase (EC 3.2.1.23). It was determined that each of these enzymes exists in adult rat intestine in single immunoreactive form and accounts as a group for all sucrase, cellobiase, and most maltase and lactase activities. Dietary change from low to high carbohydrate (starch) resulted in an increase in [3H]leucine accumulation in each of the enzymes, without a change in the amount of label accumulation in total intestinal proteins. The increase in label accumulation in the brush-border carbohydrase pools was matched generally by proportional elevation in the pool concentrations of sucrase-isomaltase and lactase but not maltase. These studies suggest that the elevation of intestinal carbohydrase concentrations induced by high-carbohydrate feeding may involve selective stimulation of their synthesis.

Animals

Effect of early nutrition on serum cholesterol levels in adult rats challenged with high fat diet.

Early exposure to cholesterol-enriched, high fat diets has been reported to affect serum cholesterol levels in adult rats. In this study, we investigated the role of dietary fat alone, without cholesterol, by feeding to pregnant rats (from day 18 of gestation) experimental diets containing either high fat (corn oil), low sucrose (HF) or low fat, high sucrose (HS). After birth, mothers and pups were fed the diets until weaning (30 days), when serum cholesterol levels were the same in both groups of pups. Animals were fed stock diet until 7 months. At that time, half the animals from each original group (HF or HS) were challenged with HF diet for 3 days; the other half were fed stock diet. There was no significant difference in serum cholesterol between HF and HS animals fed stock diet: HF, 73 +/- 7 mg/dl (n = 11); HS, 80 +/- 19 (6); P greater than 0.25. Animals originally fed HF diet significantly raised serum cholesterol in response to late HF challenge (140 +/- 31 mg/dl, n = 10, P less than 0.001 vs. stock fed); the original HS-fed group did not (93 +/- 7 mg/dl, n = 5, P greater than 0.19). Early exposure to HF diet, even without cholesterol, could evoke a hypercholesterolemic response in adulthood following challenge by brief exposure to HF diet.

Animals